Story: Although you can watch Season 2 without watching Season 1, you'll get a much better understanding of what's happening if you'd watched Season 1. The story continues with where it ended in Season 1 with Tian Jingzhi finding herself pregnant with Xue Ling Qiao's baby. You'll still get the quirky interactions and conversations between Tiang Jingzhi and the people around her, though in Season 2, you'll get to better understand Tian Jingzhi and her motivations. On the outside, she may come across as a happy-go-lucky, devil-may-care character, but in many circumstances, she'd thought deeply on matters and like any other woman, had her reservations and worries about her relationship with Xue Ling Qiao. On another hand, while Xue Ling Qiao was portrayed as being somewhat detached in Season 1 because he didn't want to involve Tiang Jingzhi overly much in his matters in order to keep her safe, in Season 2, you'll get to see a more involved Xue Ling Qiao as he finally realised he could not live apart from Tiang Jingzhi. In Season 2, you'll get introduced to a few more characters and side-couples. I am sure you'll ship at least one of the side-couples. Overall, the story maintained its fidelity from Season 1 and ended nicely. Though we can now close the chapter to the story of Xue Ling Qiao and Tian Jingzhi, I will not say no if the producer and director decide to further this franchise and tell the story of their son in Season 3.
Acting/Cast: Initially, the change in lead actress threw me off a bit. Esther Yu as Tian Jingzhi has big shoes to fill as her predecessor, Janice Wu, did an excellent job in portraying the quirky, sometimes annoying but surprisingly lovable Tian Jingzhi. In fact, Janice Wu pretty much carried most of the weight of the drama from Season 1 on her shoulders as her acting shone in it. It took me somewhere around 10 episodes before I could watch Season 2 without the bias of comparing Esther Yu's Tian Jingzhi to Janice Wu's Tian Jingzhi. All things considered, Esther did a good job but I couldn't shake the feeling that she's simply emulating Janice Wu on the character. She was a good copycat, and that is in no way something bad because it takes good fundamental acting skills to perfectly emulate another person's acting. For a relatively newish actress, she did well. Hopefully as she grows in her acting career, she'll one day be able to interpret and act out a character entirely based on her own acting style.
As for the male lead, I wasn't very keen on Kim Tae Hwan in Season 1. In my opinion, the man cannot act to save his life (apologies to his fans!) and his only selling point was because he's Korean and nowadays, anything Korean pretty much sells ("The Oppa Trend"). I was actually glad they changed the lead actor to Mike Angelo who is better looking and can act (at least he's a better actor than Kim Tae Hwan!). Also, Mike can speak Mandarin pretty well and although his voice was dubbed, you can tell that he'd spoken his script in Mandarin throughout from how his mouthing of the words matched the dubbing. This is a great improvement from watching Kim Tae Hwan act in Korean but dubbed into Mandarin. I 'll award Mike an extra star for his extra effort in learning Mandarin so he could act in Mandarin dramas. At the back of my mind, I cannot help thinking...if only Mike Angelo was in Season 1 with Janice Wu and they maintain this pairing to Season 2, that would be perfect! Both Mike and Janice are more seasoned actors and I am sure the chemistry would be better too.
Casting for the supporting characters was spot on. Young newbie actor Li Ge Yang as the playful but loyal Zhen Yi Jiao was a lovable character. Mature actor Liu Guang Xiang was perfect as the well-meaning but ambitious and highly principled Qiu Yue Bai/ Lion. Kudos to the ladies too - Yang Zhi Ying as Bai Lu and Tian Yi Tong as Ye Mei Xiao. Of course, we must not forget returning actors from Season 1 - Fu Jia as Li Yan Zhi and Yang Yi Fei as Feng Dong Dong reprised their roles to perfection.
Music: Initially, I wasn't keen on the OST but after a while, it grew on me.
Re watch value: Decent re-watch value as it's an easy and relaxing watch with minimal repetitions and good story pacing.
Overall: A good drama to fill your time, but do not expect this to be a 10/10 or a phenomenal hit. It's light on the viewing and if you'd watched Season 1 and wondered how Tiang Jingzhi and Xue Ling Qiao's romance progresses from Season 1, watching Season 2 will answer your curiosity and give a nice end to their story. Enjoy!
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At first glance I was shocked as well as disappoint with cast and also eager to know that why they don't have same cast but after watching some of the episode I really liked the cast.
Talking about the drama which I liked it . Between the two seasons I like the second part but first part was not that bad. This drama is full of entertainment , it has all those things which Audience want the most. The best part is this is the plot was perfectly organised that we can't remove our eyes from every scene.
Talking about the cast I really like Mike Angelo personally as well as in the character of Xue Ling Qiao and as I already mention in my last review that I really like the character Li Yan Zi.
But all the characters were done their job above the expectations and amazingly.
You may watch this drama on Vikki and YouTube with Eng subtitles.
Love from India♥️
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This review may contain spoilers
My review contains a spoiler at the end so skip the part when I say Spoiler. I watched season 1 when it came out and absolutely fell in love with the premise of the story and with the actors themselves. Coming into season 2 with a re-cast, I must admit I was a little hesitant, however since I loved Mike from a couple of his other roles, I decided to give it a try.
The Story:
After getting over my initial shock of the change of cast, I found myself enjoying the drama. The story continues from where it left off in season 1 but most of its major points was touched upon in this season; so if you decide to skip season 1, you won't necessarily be too lost. I wouldn't go as far to say the script surrounding the existence of multiple mutants, a secret organization was the greatest ever, but it was good enough to keep me interested in majority of the episode. (Like any other long dramas, I find the story line tends to drag on 2 episodes towards the end too long)
The Acting/Cast:
Esther Yu as Tian Jing Zhi: As I mentioned before, it took a bit for me to get use to the new cast, but hesitancy was quickly over by episode 2. I think Esther did a good job picking up where Janice left off. When playing a character that has already been established, it's hard to not fall into the trap of completely trying to mimic the previous actor and failing as most do; Esther still was able to pull off her own Tian Jing Zhi, while still staying true to the character Janice had initially brought to life.
Mike D'Angelo as Xue Ling Qiao: Mike is able to deliver the serious and calculating Xue Ling Qiao whose expressions we can't read when it comes to the mystery/serious story line, and, when it is time for the romance and comedy can deliver ALL THE FEELS. As much as I liked looking at Kim Tae Hwan from season 1, Mike gave Monster Xue LIFE. with his numerous facial expressions. His chemistry with Esther was also through the roof. Every time he looked at her, or they got close, my heart fluttered . I really enjoyed all the little romantic moments between the leads, and often found my self replaying their romantic scenes.
Supporting Characters: Overall the supporting cast did great, well, supporting. If I had to choose, Li Ge Yang is probably my favorite supporting cast member. As a new actor, he did very well playing the love teacher of Monster Xue and adorable best friend, Yun Zhen . (Although that may be me being biased to how his character was written. )
The Music:
Wasn't bad. It complimented the story line when it needed to.
Overall: I enjoyed the drama quite a lot, especially because of the casts chemistry, the romance and the adorable littler Xue Changan. When I do rewatch, however, I'd probably only be rewatching for all the cute moments, and just skip all the other stuff.
****SPOILER WARNING: Although I don't go into great detail, it still spoils a little, so read at YOUR OWN RISK****
The Ending:
For most romantic comedies and supernatural type dramas in general, I tend to turn off my brain and enjoy it for what it is. If it wasn't for this, I probably would have given this drama a 10 because I'm the type who easily loves anything. However, one thing ruined for me was how in the last 2 episodes the writers suddenly gave Tian Jing Zhi a complete character change. I understand she was feeling some marriage fears, but I did not understand how the script writers decided to make her seem like she finds her own child annoying and doesn't want to take care of him at all. We just spent the whole season watching her willing to do ANYTHING for her child, to all of a sudden be absent? It literally made no sense, and made me a bit mad because when it comes to endings, I just wanted the last episodes to be filled with mushy gushy romance/ happy ending stuff. I wanted to cringe at how cute their family was being on family dates or just happy feels all around, but the addition of the female lead's lack of motherly connection with her own child put a bitter taste in my mouth.
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In season 2 the male lead has realized that leaving the female lead was a mistake. He thought she would be happier without him but she’s absolutely miserable. So now he’s a lot sweeter and kinder to her after realizing his mistake. The female lead on the other hand, is very resentful and doesn’t trust the male lead. So she is stronger, more assertive, and pushes the male lead away. So we see the two main leads being very opposite of what they were in season 1.
Some may point to this and say season 1 is nothing like season 2. I beg to differ. As most dramas progress, doesn’t the arrogant male lead soften up and become nicer? And doesn’t the female lead start to stand up for herself and be more assertive after a while? It’s called character growth. Season 2 is basically just the second half of the whole drama. And we are seeing the actors changing because they’ve grown emotionally. I personally think they did a great job on this drama. I loved everyone in the drama, especially the side couple. It’s rare for me but I’ve finally had second lead syndrome.
I like that in season 2 there are more mutant humans and we get to hear about how they came to be. This drama is every bit as good as season 1. There’s lots of romance with kisses, hugs, and skinship. And the story still has the depth and intrigue that the first season had. I would definitely recommend watching this one.
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Watched this drama because it seemed like there would be a lot of cute scenes between the leads. If you're looking for those, I suggest skipping forward a bunch. I didn't skip as the story actually was quite interesting, but the story felt quite rushed at some points. I really wish we could have seen more scenes between the leads, as it sometimes felt like an afterthought.
The story line between the humans and superhumans was surprisingly done quite well, and even though I knew who the bad guy was before he was revealed, I do believe the reveal was done well, because I didn't feel like it was obvious nor was it completely out of the blue.
The relationships felt a bit off, as I didn't always understand character motivation, and the forgiveness for some terrible things came a bit too easy for my liking
Music: I thought it was well done, I'm on my way to Spotify to find some of the gems that were used, the music was timed very well
Why not a higher rating? Well, even though the drama itself was quite ok, there were still some points that bothered me, like the relationships between the many couples. Not a fan of relationships that have an unhealthy beginning or where one of the partners is asserting ownership over the other partner.
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This review may contain spoilers
I didn't hate it, but I didn't love it. It was just a solid, "I liked that" drama. I was a little iffy after they recast the main characters, but honestly, Mike and Esther did a fantastic job playing the two mains and keeping that original essence that we saw in season 1. One of the things I didn't love about this drama was seeing Tian Jing Zhi struggle with her love for Xue Ling Qiao and ultimately self sabotaging herself. I totally get it to an extent - homeboy left her at the end of season one and there was nothing that would make him stay, but he ended up moving in across the street when he finds out she is pregnant. Plus he wasn't all that "upfront" when his love for her evolved and he wanted to stay for her as well. I get it to an extent why it was harder for her to open up and accept any love from him because he left once before. But literally this drama dragged on for so long that I needed to take break after break. Nothing was happening and I was only watching his drama to see when Xue Ling Qiao would just put his foot down and confess. I also watched to see my two favorite side characters which I will not name because both actually played a HUGE part in this whole drama. One ended up being the villain (we don't find out who it is until the last 5 episode, but it was so obvious in the beginning) and one ended up sacrificing themselves to save Xue Chang'an. They were my favorites because they were both given backstories that were super emotional. It was the reason why I couldn't hate the dark coated villain in this drama; they had such a tragic backstory and death in their human life and all they wanted was some kind of redemption from it and after hundreds of years, they got lost and went down a dark path. But I don't think you were supposed to dislike anyone in this drama. I feel like this drama was filmed and written as if it were through the eyes of Tian Jing Zhi - over the top, fun, silly, sad and angry at times, but learn to forgive. I didn't hate this drama, but I didn't love it. It felt like it just dragged on and it made me dislike Tian Jing Zhi as a character. There were a few grouped episodes at the end that I really liked her in once she was serious, but then the last two episodes showed a 3 year time jump and...she was back to her annoying self. Plus because there were so many episodes, a lot of situations were dragged out and fully explained in 2 or 3 episodes. But then you get the final 2 episodes that were extremely rushed and the one wedding scene that I basically watched this whole series to see...wasn't satisfying. Such as, before the time jump there were still a few issues that hadn't been solved and weren't until exactly 3 years later and we have no idea how they were solved, but they just were. An example being, the death of my favorite character. When they died, it took 2 or 3 episodes for everyone to mourn them...including me...I was very upset, but then RANDOMLY in the final episode he gets brought back to life. No explanation how it was possible after 3 years. Happy they brought them back, but upset how they went about it. Actually the last 2 episodes, I was upset how they went about it all. The only thing that redeemed it whatsoever was the final, final episode of the drama. It was quirky and cute and very My Amazing Boyfriend. Was this review helpful to you?
all the actors performed their parts very well. if you ask me I can watch this drama as many times as I can because this drama has everything you can ask for. it is a full package and those who love Mike will surely love it . the thing that I most like (beside the couple's chemistry) is the some funny moments which make you laugh. the acting of supporting actors is supreme.
in a nutshell this is a must drama for drama lovers like me and I bet you, you will love it
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Great show until it wasn’t
I loved part one. There was such a gap (time wise) between me watching the first and then part two, that I actually didn’t mind the cast changes. I loved the actors in this show. The chemistry and dialogue, I thought, was cute and funny. The story plot was a bit out there, but heck , that was the whole idea of the show. So I enjoyed the theme. I liked that it had some twist and turns. Just when I thought it was dragging a bit, it picked up in a big way. I thought some stuff was a bit “too much” but I had drank the kool aid and was along for the ride.Then all the sudden I am sitting here fully invested in how things were going to come to fruition when we have a time jump that catapults us to the finish line and doesn’t explain one darn thing along the way???? I swear it was almost like the person who wrote the story either got bored with it, or couldn’t figure out how to play out the plot or heck maybe they just died and another person stepped and said let’s finish the project NOW! I mean everything was tied needle in a bow at the finish but nothing was explained. The characters didn’t even really act or relate to each other the same.
On the plus side they all live happily ever after, I assume, because the page just ran out of ideas. Lol
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This review may contain spoilers
Interesting
When I heard that the show was getting a season two I was so excited, but then I found out about the switch in casting, I was disappointed but I like mike from other shows so I was less upset over the change… but let me tell you when I actually watched the show I was majorly disappointed. I didn’t like that the main female lead didn’t have a relationship with the kid and how the relationship between the two main characters was kind of on and off, it didn’t feel like a romance and I was just disappointed that they didn’t have more romance and more family moment.Was this review helpful to you?
As a whole it is enjoyable drama ....From my side this drama get four star and one start for that cute kid character so in total 5 star .I enjoyed watching this drama.but last scene when she wore jeans in her wedding that 's not so cool .
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This review may contain spoilers
I was sufficiently entertained so I would feel bad for giving it less than 8 stars, however the story is pretty bad at times. As a romantic comedy it's pretty great really, even the second pair has a good chemistry. There was no real love triangle, which I always appreciate. The actors were great for the most part too. Personally I didn't mind the casting changes, if I look at the entire series as a whole (with the novel as the basis) perhaps the ML in the second series was more fitting for the role. With My Amazing Boyfriend 1 the chinese wanted to copy the success of My Love from the Star and they've picked a lead that's extremely similar to Kim Soohyon both in looks and mannerisms & I don't think that would have worked for the story in the second season. I prefer Janice Wu over Yu Esther for the female lead role, but thanks to the long time between the two shows the change did not bother me too much. For a replacement Yu Esther was quite outstanding. I hated how the first show has ended & I'm grateful that they've given me a satisfying conclusion, at last.
So I mentioned above that I had problems with the story. First and foremost the show is really long, the 38 episodes translate into the length of a 19 episodes long kdrama, which I'm normally fine with, but there was a lot of time wasted with the (really stupid, a normal person would have seen it from a mile away) child kidnapping plot, followed by a second kidnapping plot, so yep that wasn't great. Tian Jing Zhi's character is also written in a weird, inconsistent way. In the first show she practically threw herself at Xue Ling Qiao, but in the second show even after they've gotten engaged the woman decided to practice abstinence for quite a whole for ehm reasons and once all the major troubles were resolved she decided to develop a marriage phobia, I mean come on webnovel writer you could have done better..
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